
The snow continued through the night, finally ending early this morning. Luckily we have young adults back at home to start digging us out.
It's a great day to stay inside and bake while watching the wind swirl the snow outside. The fruit bowl had some eating apples and pears slightly past their prime. I tried some recipes from "Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More" by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson. I've had mixed results from this book -- the German Apple cake was a hit, the upside chocolate pear cake was deemed too chocolatey from even the chocoholics in the family. When warm and smothered with vanilla icecream and whipped cream it was a hit.
I usually have some frozen puff pastry in the freezer, great for chicken pot pie or a fast tarte tatin which is the simplest desert to make with aging apples. Preheat oven to 375. While the pastry is thawing throw a stick of butter and cup of sugar (white or brown) in the bottom of a heavy cast iron skillet and cook gently over low heat, stirring until blended. Cook until the sugar caramelizes. While that's bubbling away peel the apples, core them and cut into quarters. I usually use about 7, a mixture of Granny Smith, Gala, McIntosh works well and I squeeze a lemon over them to stop them from browning add flavor. Take the caramel off the stove top and either arrange the apples carefully in the pan starting with the outside of the pan and working your way in. Place them on their sides and overlap so you can fit as many as possible -- or chuck them carelessly over and push together to cover the bottom of the pan. Place the puff pastry square over the apples and tuck the edges under sligjhtly along the inside of the pan. Bake in the oven until the top of the crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, let it cool for about 10 minutes and hten place a plate on top of the pan and quickly flip it over so the Tarte Tatin drops down onto the plate. The pan will be very hot still so use potholders. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.
It's a great day to stay inside and bake while watching the wind swirl the snow outside. The fruit bowl had some eating apples and pears slightly past their prime. I tried some recipes from "Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More" by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson. I've had mixed results from this book -- the German Apple cake was a hit, the upside chocolate pear cake was deemed too chocolatey from even the chocoholics in the family. When warm and smothered with vanilla icecream and whipped cream it was a hit.
I usually have some frozen puff pastry in the freezer, great for chicken pot pie or a fast tarte tatin which is the simplest desert to make with aging apples. Preheat oven to 375. While the pastry is thawing throw a stick of butter and cup of sugar (white or brown) in the bottom of a heavy cast iron skillet and cook gently over low heat, stirring until blended. Cook until the sugar caramelizes. While that's bubbling away peel the apples, core them and cut into quarters. I usually use about 7, a mixture of Granny Smith, Gala, McIntosh works well and I squeeze a lemon over them to stop them from browning add flavor. Take the caramel off the stove top and either arrange the apples carefully in the pan starting with the outside of the pan and working your way in. Place them on their sides and overlap so you can fit as many as possible -- or chuck them carelessly over and push together to cover the bottom of the pan. Place the puff pastry square over the apples and tuck the edges under sligjhtly along the inside of the pan. Bake in the oven until the top of the crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, let it cool for about 10 minutes and hten place a plate on top of the pan and quickly flip it over so the Tarte Tatin drops down onto the plate. The pan will be very hot still so use potholders. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.